The equestrian contests known as "sulky" racing are very popular in North America and elsewhere. These races are often clled jogger racing, harness racing or the trots, although the correct term is "standardbred" racing. The horses utilized are standardbred, rather than thoroughbred.
The sulky itself is a two-wheeled jogger which supports the driver, and the sulky is attached to the harness on the horse by two long shafts. The driver rides behind the horse in sulky racing, rather than on top of the horse as in thoroughbred racing.
One of the problems connected with the training of horses for sulky racing relates to the task of familiarizing the horse with the starting gate. The starting gate is normally supported on a truck or car in the form of elongated transverse arms. In order to start the race, the truck or car moves forward at about 25 miles an hour and when the horses are all lined up behind the gate and moving forwardly, the truck or car accelerates and the starting gate is swung forwardly out of the way to lie alongside the truck or car. The race then begins.
Those familiar with this area known that it is very difficult to train a horse to follow a starting gate closely. All the horse wants to do is race at top speed, but the horse must be controlled at the gate speed until the truck or car starts to accelerate and the race can begin.